1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an aging device of a catalytic converter of a vehicle and a method thereof, and more particularly to an aging device of a catalytic converter of a vehicle, and to a method thereof that ages the catalytic converter under real conditions of a vehicle by injecting an engine oil mixture with amounts of elements such as phosphor (P), zinc (Zn), and so on that are elevated and causing catalytic poisoning or contamination in aging, as well as using a heat aging process according to a prior art.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, exhaust gas that is exhausted out of an engine flows through a catalytic converter that is disposed in a middle portion of an exhaust pipe and is purified therein, through a muffler to decreased noise, and expelled to the atmosphere through an exhaust tail pipe.
Regulation of exhaust gas has become severe in many advanced nations, and so the importance of the catalytic converter has increased. Particularly, the usable lifespan of the catalytic converter is prescribed according to the exhaust gas regulations, which means that characteristics of a catalytic converter are to be sustained according to the usable lifespan.
Generally, an experimental method of driving a real vehicle is used so as to test the usable lifespan of the catalytic converter.
However, since the usable lifespan of the catalytic converter is regulated to be as long as 160,000 Km under domestic Korean rules and to be as long as 120,000 miles under North American rules, great time and expense are required when testing the lifespan of the catalytic converter by driving a real vehicle, and so there are many difficulties in actual application of such tests.
Accordingly, deterioration data that approaches that of actual driving conditions of a real vehicle can be determined through aging of the catalytic converter in bench tests of an engine that can mimic a state of a real vehicle.
However, the aging method that has been used until now in bench tests of an engine uses heat, and only uses the temperature of the catalytic converter for deteriorating the catalytic converter.
Likewise, the deterioration method of that catalytic converter that is used at present only uses heat, so there are many problems.
That is, the total amount of engine oil that is consumed increases as the operation period time is lengthened so consumption of phosphor (P) that is included in the engine oil increases, and this material poisons the catalytic converter and deteriorates the activation of the catalytic converter.
Accordingly, the catalytic poisoning or contamination by consumption of substances that are included in the engine oil in the thermal deterioration method that is used at present cannot be reflected, so there is a problem to insure reliable deterioration data.
Also, as regulation of exhaust gas become stricter, the catalytic converter is being located closer to the engine, thereby the development direction of the catalytic converter is to endure high temperatures, and there is a problem that catalytic poisoning or contamination by substances that are included in the engine oil becomes larger and larger.
The information disclosed in this Background of the Invention section is only for enhancement of understanding of the general background of the invention and should not be taken as an acknowledgement or any form of suggestion that this information forms the prior art already known to a person skilled in the art.